–agree not to increase fare after meeting with President Ali

THE speedboat operators who ply their trade across the Demerara River between Vreed-en-Hoop and Georgetown have agreed to call off their strike and accept the current $100 fare, following the intervention of President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Sunday.

The decision was reportedly made after the Head of State met with members of the Demerara River Speedboat Association at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD) on Sunday evening.

During that meeting, the President gave his word that the government would help improve the service of the speedboat operators and the landing area while continuously aiding their growth.

Lallbachan Babulal, Vice-President of the speedboat association, expressed satisfaction with the meeting, and said that members are looking forward to working with the President to improve the service.

The speedboat operators had on Friday initiated a strike in the hope of increasing the fare to cross the Demerara River from $100 to $120.

In order to provide some semblance of relief to the hundreds of commuters who daily depend on the service to either get to and from work or go about their business, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard deployed six vessels to tentatively get the job done until some sort of solution could be found.

The collective effort and measures put in place by the Army and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), along with speedboat operators all the way from Essequibo and other private boat operatives was effective in bringing the desired relief. The GDF had also deployed a number of its buses to assist in the effort to help those stranded from as early as 06:00hrs get where they were going.

Now that the operators have met with the President, and the situation has been resolved, it is expected that commuters can traverse the river as per normal.